The Primordial Record

Rowan did not think that what he absorbed next could be called memories; instead, they were more like snapshots, and if not for the voice of Lumen in the background, he would be confused with the information slamming into his head.

He groaned and almost fell to his knees. He felt as if he were a mortal again, and every snapshot of memory was like someone was bashing his skull with a hammer. Rowan gritted his teeth and flowed with the blows, adapting to brace against them as they came.

His feet were spread wide, and his eyes had gone red, with bright veins of light radiating from the fist that had grabbed the feather from the wings of Lumen, from the glowing veins that were growing all over his body; it was as if the blood in his veins was slowly transforming into light.

"Forgive me for the burden that my memories are having on your mind. I was never meant to connect to your essence or any essence in this present Existence, my memories are poison, and they are killing you, but I am sure that for someone like you, death holds no fear."

Rowan took a few moments to respond, and he groaned, "Damn right, show me everything."

The wings chuckled, "I wish I could show you more of the events that happened before this existence was born, but knowledge like that carries weight, and you cannot hold it in two different bodies. I can only show you what you do not know."

Rowan gasped, "Are you telling me I know more about End than I can recall?"

"Of course," Lumen advised, "Inside this space of mine, I can touch existence, and I still have the talents of the Luminious that Enoch has lost, meaning that I can see across what has been and what was… if he knows that I still exist, then he would come for me, and your battles would be meaningless."

"How did I come across this knowledge?" Rowan asked in curiosity, although he was pretty sure that he already knew the answer to this question.

"You are in my domain, and although your link to Eos is faint, I can still sense the power of End that he carries. You have made a bargain with this power, and as of yet, you have not reaped the rewards; part of that reward is knowledge. Also, I can sense your other connection with the second Incarnation inside the Shadow of the Cradle; the power of End grows within him at a rate that is frightening. I am afraid that he is in over his head, and Enoch's hand has changed his fate. The weight of knowledge hangs heavy on that Incarnation, and he would either be the source of your greatest blessing or your most terrible of woes."

"My Incarnation," Rowan said, "He is with Enoch?"

"Yes, he is at the fringes of End, but that is already too deep. He found Enoch clawing his way out of End. Now, Enoch has grabbed onto his foot, and your Incarnation is unknowingly dragging him out of his deserved prison." Lumen replied, "You were never meant to have access to your Final Form until you reached the ninth-dimensional level. That was not my intention. Someone changed my designs, tampered with the Records, and now you, alongside all of existence, are in grave danger."

"My Incarnation would never allow himself to be the source of danger to existence." Rowan shook his head in disbelief.

"Enoch is wise and uses his ignorance against him. He gives him knowledge, but that knowledge is also woven with the power of End, and he does not know he is in a massive ritual. However, I can say that he is gaining a significant amount of benefit in this process, but it is yet to be known if that will end up aiding Enoch. Still, your goal here is answers, because you cannot do anything to change his fate, so focus on the memories I will be giving you, for they answer the majority of all the questions in your heart."

Rowan frowned, "If I had not come across this place, would I have ever known these so-called truths that would answer all my questions?"

"Oh, it has all been arranged even before you were born, surely you did not think you found this place by accident?" Lumen said, "The triggers were two things: your ascension to the rank of Primordials and you coming in contact with the power of End, although you were supposed to reach the Primordial level first, but you touched End before that… This place is your birthright, and you are the answer to the mistake of the Luminious. Now, accept my memories, you need them more than you know."

"Why should I accept this memory? My Incarnation is falling under a ritual from Enoch, and I am sure he must be in a similar situation, because I know my greatest weakness, and that is my desire for the truth. Why should I trust that you will not be doing the same as Enoch?"

"You don't," Lumen said, "But you will have to trust me because this is the only chance you have."

"I tire of hearing those words, Lumen, my greatest betrayers spoke to me in such words."

"Do you have a choice, Rowan? Will you hear the truth knowing the price, or will you flee? But you will not, because you know that despite the risk, power does not come to those who are not willing to burn every bridge behind them and willingly step into the flames."

Rowan went quiet. It was hard enough holding himself sane under the strain of these memories that he knew was the power of End, and he pushed his concern to his main body; he should be able to take it. The voice of Lumen resounded in his consciousness as Rowan saw the white-haired man hold his wings and began to viciously pull them out from his body.

"I wish I could show you the glory of the Luminious, but it is gone in such totality that showing it to you would cost me some of my control over End, and it would not do much to help your cause, and draw only the wrong attention to me. What I can show you is this…"

Rowan saw the wings were discarded by this man like nothing, and he walked into the distance, forgetting his last connection with his past. Behind the man was a spreading wave of creation, and Rowan, who shared the same memories as the Incarnation who was becoming the Primordial of Space, knew that this spot was the birthplace of Hundun.

"The relentless tides of creation are unstoppable. When Enoch shattered Existence, he did not know what he would find; all he knew was that he could not stand an Existence like that, and he broke it. He remained inside this chamber for a long time, and when he went out of it, he saw a new Creation, he saw Hundun… At first, he was amazed at the power he could feel in this nascent Reality, but then he saw that despite the potential of Hundun, there was a chance it would follow the path of the Luminious, and Enoch would not have that."